A wide variety of different portable printers are known in the art. Often, such printers are incorporated into hand-held labelers that can directly print one or more labels from a wound roll of blank labels carried on or in the device.
Numerous features and functions have also been incorporated in such devices. For example, optical scanners such as used for reading barcodes and the like, radio-based communication provisions, microprocessor-based computing capabilities, and sophisticated operator interfaces are now typically available in hand-held labeling devices.
However, as the functional features and capabilities of such devices have significantly increased, so too has their complexity. This can be undesirable as greater complexity generally demands sophisticated manufacturing operations which tend to increase costs. Moreover, as such devices are designed for hand-held operation; it is desirable that the devices maintain a readily manageable weight and/or size. These design goals can present formidable challenges in view of demands for increased device functionality and capabilities.
In view of these and other concerns, a desire exists for a hand-held portable labeler and/or printer that includes an array of features and functions, yet which is relatively elegant in its simplicity and operation, and further provides additional improvements over currently known hand-held labelers/printers.